Monster to Some
by ArtisteFish
Summary: Ruling a kingdom requires sacrifice, and Amelia knows this better than most. But a diplomatic mission to meet a suitor turns up dark secrets, causing Amelia to rethink what it means to be royalty. Set between TRY and Revolution. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Monster to Some

The sea air was crisp and clear, a slight breeze blowing a salty bite into unsuspecting faces. The gulls cried loudly, their voices harmonizing with the crash of the waves against the side of the massive ship. It rocked gently but with a rhythm that soothed those on board. As the gallant ship sailed closer to the strip of land on the horizon, and all of the sights and smells and sensations of the ocean washed over those on deck, the Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun found she had never felt more miserable.

Coming, once again, to the Outerworld had initially seemed like a good idea – a chance to spread Justice and right wrongs in the name of her kingdom.

But this was no vacation.

This was a mission that could bridge the gap between the previously divided lands of what was called "the Outerworld" and those within the Monster Race's Barrier. There was a possibility of an alliance between the Holy Kingdom of Seyruun and the Kingdom of Parfan, which lay on the outskirts of the Desert of Destruction. All these two kingdoms needed to cement a friendship between the realms (as well as copious trade agreements and tactical advantages) was the union of the royal families.

And that meant marriage.

And since she was the only member of the Seyruun royal family eligible to be wed, the task fell to Amelia.

When the council had initially told her of the arrangement, she had wanted to scream- run- torch them all with a fireball – but, Princess that she was, she stood firm (though defiant) and told the assembly that she would try to do what was best for her kingdom.

Only her father, Crown Prince Phillionel, saw through her act.

And when he found her later on in the library, surrounded by dusty stacks of books and with tears running down her cheeks, he enfolded her in a massive hug and let her cry into his shoulder, her sobs turning into angry exclamations on the injustice of it all and how she was too young and so on. All he could do was hold his little girl close to him and promise he would put this off as long as he could.

However, it seemed it couldn't be ignored for long.

As much as he wanted his dear Amelia to be happy, Phil was only the Crown Prince, and his solitary vote- though valuable- was overruled by the majority vote of the council. And despite his bias in regards to his daughter's feelings, Phil realized that an alliance between the two lands would help not only their kingdoms, but also the lands roundabout. Seyruun's pacifist views made it the choice kingdom to start the alliance, as it ensured that any and all agreements would be peaceful and help avoid a war that could easily come about if the other Outerworld forces felt intimidated by the magical abilities of those from within the Barrier.

"Besides", Phil said, as he and Amelia sat on a balcony overlooking the city, "You don't have to marry him right away."

He looked imploringly at his daughter, who continued to stare off into the distance.

"As long as you're engaged, we can start negotiating with Parfan. You'll have plenty of time to get to know the prince! And when you're ready, we'll get everything settled!"

He slapped the table excitedly, sure that this solution would appease her.

But all she did was sigh heavily and turn her sad eyes on her father. "Daddy?" she began, trying to steady her voice, "was your marriage arranged?"

Phil paused at that. "Well, no… I first met your mother at a ball…" He scratched his head, mustache twitching as he tried to remember the facts. "She was a noblemen's daughter, from a kingdom not too far away…"

He hesitated then smiled brightly, "But she didn't tell me at first! All I knew was that she was the most beautiful and vibrant girl I'd ever seen! And such a wild spirit too! Why, it took two more balls for her to even let me dance with her! But I loved her from the start! I asked her myself to marry me, and your dear Grandfather was wonderful about making it happen!"

Amelia smiled at the love shining through on her father's face, and said "What if you had been forced to marry someone else?"

Phil puffed up in indignation.

"Why I'd have refused of course! I'd battle kingdoms and armies and anything else that got between me and my beloved! I – " Phil stopped mid-flourish as he realized just what he was saying.

He turned back slowly to his daughter, who was staring at him with reddened eyes.

"Oh my Amelia…" he said softly, his voice strained with sudden emotion, "You're not… you don't mean – you're already in love with someone else, aren't you?"

Amelia let out a choked laugh.

"Don't be silly daddy! When would I have had time to fall in love? I'm a busy princess with a mission to spread Justice throughout the world!"

She finished with a fist in the air and a determined smile on her face, but Phil couldn't help thinking that his baby girl had done more growing up in her travels than he had thought….

'Maybe I should've just told him then…' Amelia thought wistfully as she refocused her attention on the ocean, her plum-black hair brushing her shoulders in the wind, '… that I have fallen in love … maybe he could've postponed the trip, or- 'no.

It was no use.

No matter how much she divulged to her dear father – he couldn't force the one she loved to love her back.

A face appeared to her mind's eye: the face of a young man, with blue skin that shone like polished stone, spattered with darker pebbles, all topped with fine wire for hair. A face that, in her blurred memories, wore a small half-smile that seemed reserved only for her.

The face of her dearest friend Zelgadis Graywords, a man transformed into a chimera by his own grandfather, to become a conglomeration of human, stone-golem, and Brau demon.

A man who hated his current self and never seemed to notice that those around him liked him the way he was. That _she_ liked him the way he was.

But of course he didn't notice. And truth be told, she _hadn't_ liked him at first.

Their very first encounter had started with her calling him "creepy and suspicious looking", which… had not been polite at all. Then again, he _had_ come crashing through a window like a villain, throwing daggers and slashing things with his sword, so she liked to think that her first opinion of him had been a bit colored by that.

In fact, the next time they met, she had told him as emphatically and sincerely as she could that she thought he looked 'cool'. It seemed he didn't believe her.

He never had been very observant of feelings.

He often liked to pretend that he didn't have feelings, and was the "heartless sorcerer-swordsman" that others had mistaken him for in the past.

He never would see that she didn't buy this.

That she knew he had a softer side – she knew because she had seen it and been on the receiving end of it. The smile he gave her after defending him in their first real battle together; Him taking a sword for her that shattered his stone skin and left her to heal him with shaking hands; His arms holding her as she lay dying at the hands of Hellmaster Phibrizzo, one of the most sadistic and powerful Monsters they had ever faced.

Yet even from their first shaky encounter, they had looked out for each other – had the other's back so to speak. He protected her, she protected him. It didn't matter if the other needed it or not.

He had always been there for her, including during her last visit into the Outerworld with him and her other friends. It felt as though they had truly become a team – a pair synchronized in thought and might. She thought they had finally made some progress. He had even agreed to come home with her after their battle with the Dark lord of the Overworld, Darkstar.

And he had.

But he had a quest as well – a single-minded obsession to find a cure for his chimeric body. He could not be dissuaded, no matter how much she told him that she didn't mind – and even liked- his appearance.

No one could change his mind.

So she had given him one of the bracelets she always wore, enchanted it with a spell of Vision to communicate over long distances, and bid him farewell with a smile.

He had left, and had been gone from her life for almost a year. He never wrote, and despite her gifted bracelet, had made no attempts to contact her.

Of course, neither had she.

She tried to tell herself it was because she was a busy princess and didn't have time to chat, but really she was afraid – afraid that he wouldn't want to see her or talk to her, or worse, that he wouldn't be there at all. A small part of her feared that her bracelet had been discarded after he had left the city; that he only took it in the first place to get her off of his back.

She didn't think she could take it if she called on him and he wasn't there.

'But still…', she looked down at her wrist, a pink and purple bracelet with a bright blue bauble winking back up at her, and glanced to the other wrist where a similar pink bracelet had once resided. "I thought he cared for me…"

*Authors Note:

This is going to be a multi-chapter story; I already have a large portion of it written, and it'll probably be quite long. The beginning may be a little slow, but it picks up after this - this is basically the intro and main backstory. So please, stay tuned, and hopefully you'll like what comes later!

Also, I tried to keep with cannon for most of this story, but since I'm basically trying to bridge TRY and Revolution here, there will be a good portion of it that is my own head-cannon and original ideas. So if anyone takes offense to my portrayal or head-cannons here, sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

The Seyruun flagship pulled in to dock late in the afternoon, the bright sun overhead making the already arid desert air suffocating.

Despite having been at sea for several weeks, Amelia was in no hurry to leave the ship. The company would be heading straight for the palace at Parfan, arriving –if all went well- just in time for supper. Which she knew meant just in time for the courting to start between her and the Parfanese prince.

Amelia pulled a sour face.

She could think of nothing less appetizing at the moment than receiving attentions from a man she had never met while a group of people decided for her how she'd be spending the rest of her life.

From somewhere behind her, she could hear her father clear his throat nervously. With a weary sigh she turned to face him, taking in the slight apologetic smile he offered as he held out his arm; and with a smile of her own that did not quite reach her eyes, she linked her arm with his and allowed him to lead her off the ship.

The journey to the palace, which was taken in carriages specially provided by His Royal Highness of Parfan, was uneventful. This only worsened Amelia's bad mood, as a good fight with bandits or other evil-doers would have helped her relieve some stress.

She almost smiled at that thought – she had obviously been spending too much time with fiery-tempered Miss Lina Inverse, whose reputation was well known as a 'bandit-killer' and Enemy of all who lived. What she wouldn't have given to have Lina there with her at that moment, giving her a 'big-sister pep talk' and promising to Fireball anyone who rubbed her the wrong way.

At last the carriages pulled up to the palace, and despite her foul mood, Amelia couldn't help but be impressed by the sheer size and grandeur of such a place situated so closely to the desert wasteland.

It was a tall, stone structure which looked quite sturdy, and from the style of the architecture Amelia guessed that it was probably a very old building. The stone work was very utilitarian in its roughness; however there were certain parts of the castle that showed skilled workmanship and care, such as snarling stone ogres at its corners, and intricate murals carved under the eaves and over windows.

She couldn't tell from her spot on the ground, but they seemed to be depicting stories; probably historical battles or conquests.

The age of the palace reminded Amelia of the Temple of the Fire Dragon King, the only other castle she had seen in the Outerworld, which she and her friends had visited (and later destroyed) during her last ventures in this land.

She sighed wistfully – the time she and her friends had helped save the world from prophesized destruction at the hands of the Dark Lord Darkstar was still vivid in her memory, and with a wry smile she thought how much she would rather be facing death against Darkstar right now than talking politics with royalty.

A servant met them at the gates to the palace and led them through many passages and hallways until finally arriving at a grand, vaulted room with a long, richly decorated table right in the middle of it.

At the head of it sat a stately man, probably in his mid-fifties Amelia guessed, arrayed in such splendid attire of rich velvets and jewel-encrusted fabrics that there was no doubting he was the king of Parfan.

To his left sat a much younger man, with a tanned complexion and light blond hair that fell in waves around his face, dressed just as regally as his father.

He reminded her a bit of Mister Gourry, another one of her dear traveling companions and Lina's self-proclaimed bodyguard, but as she saw the man closer, the similarities died.

This man was obviously more, well, _intelligent_ than the dim-witted Gourry, and his every move betrayed his standing as one born and raised in nobility.

Not to mention, he looked to be almost thirty years old.

Amelia shuffled awkwardly and stole a glance at her fluffy pink gown, suddenly feeling severely childish and underdressed in the presence of such men. However, it seemed that their manners were not quite as stuffy as their clothes, as the King stood tall and graciously welcomed them into the room with open arms.

The party took their seats as directed, with Prince Phil and his brother Christopher seated to the left of the King, while Amelia (much to her chagrin) was placed next to the Prince.

The dinner started off pleasantly, polite inquiries on travel arrangements and the general well-beings of those present taking up most of the conversation. For her part, Amelia tried to stay mostly out of the exchanges, opting instead to eat her rather tasty fresh salad.

Seaport cities always did have the freshest food after all.

It seemed she wouldn't be able to avoid talk for long however, as the prince (whom she had learned was named Judiere) turned to her with a smile and expectant look on his face. At another time she would have found him highly attractive, but even as he smiled a charming smile at her, she couldn't stop the voice in her head that thought how much nicer that smile would look in a face of blue stone.

"So, Princess Amelia" the Prince began, turning slightly to show his attention would be focused on her for a while, "I understand that you and your father are to be staying here with us for quite a while."

Amelia nodded softly, thinking to herself how much she wished that weren't the case, and noting sourly that he was just as aware as she that they would probably end up there indefinitely and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

It was like being a prisoner.

He continued "Well, I was just suggesting to Father here that tomorrow I take you and Prince Phillionel around the kingdom and show you the sites! We may be in the desert, but there is still plenty of enjoyment to be had for all!"

Once again Amelia just nodded, though her mood brightened considerably at the thought of getting out of the palace and exploring.

Judiere seemed satisfied with her response, as he turned away slightly and began planning for the next day's excursions.

"Let's see: first we should head down to the market – they have the best foods there so early in the morning!"

Amelia paused and looked up at him. "You go by yourself to the markets?"

Maybe there was hope for him yet. A Prince who found time to mingle with the people could not be a bad man, after all.

"Well, I accompany the servants, and it's not really to buy anything – the good people always offer me the best of their produce for free you know! And besides," he gave her a somewhat conspiratorial grin, "There is not much better in the way of entertainment than market haggling, eh?"

Amelia tried not to let the disappointment show on her face – of course someone as high status as him would find entertainment in the squabbles of commoners. She wasn't sure whether his fascination with his inferiors was better or worse than simply disliking them.

Noticing her disinterested reaction to his idea, the Prince tried a different approach. "Tell me Princess Amelia, what sorts of things do you enjoy doing?"

She seemed hesitant to answer at first, but managed a somewhat sheepish "Oh, you know, I mostly travel, so…" She wasn't quite ready to reveal her favorite pastime as "slaying evil-doers in the name of truth and justice" just yet.

He seemed to ponder her meager answer for a moment, and then his face lit up as an idea struck him. "Then we must go hunting soon!"

Amelia was not expecting that.

"Hunting?"

"Oh yes, I know you'd enjoy it! I travel quite often out into the desert to hunt, and it's quite an adventure! Why, you wouldn't believe some of the creatures we come across out in the wastes!"

Amelia tried masking her horror, but was finding it difficult to maintain her polite and formal front – she could just feel a speech building on the injustice of hunting helpless creatures.

"Oh, I… really don't know about that…"

"What's this? A hunt?" It seemed that the King had overheard, and had decided to become a part of the conversation. "Yes of course, you must absolutely accompany my son on a hunt during your stay!"

Prince Phil looked concerned at the prospect, but managed to keep up a diplomatic front. "I'm sure there can't be much game out here – not enough to allow for hunting."

The King only smiled. "I'm not sure what they hunt in Seyruun, ('They don't' Amelia thought dryly) but here in the desert we have rather… unique sport."

With a sweep of his arm he gestured to the far wall, where nearly every inch surrounding the arched doorway was covered in what seemed to be – Amelia gasped. Mounted animal heads.

And not just any animals; magical creatures.

Beastmen, ogres, trolls, dragons – she even spotted a rather ferocious looking fish person on the far left corner of the wall. All the heads had been carefully preserved and stuffed it seemed, as there was quite a number of them on display. They were all frozen in a growl or a snarl or some other evil looking expression.

Apparently taking her stunned silence as awe, Prince Judiere sat up proudly and said "every one of those was caught and killed by myself, out in the desert. Some of them put up a rather tough fight too!"

Amelia barely acknowledged his statement as she continued to stare in horror at the wall of decapitated creatures. She spied a fox-like beastman that reminded her painfully of poor mister Jillas, a clever and loyal foxman with a penchant for explosives, and she was finding it hard to keep her eyes from watering.

Noticing her preoccupation with the wall and not him, Judiere moved slightly to point a finger and direct her gaze to right above the doorway, where the largest mount hung.

"That one there is a- "

"A golden dragon…" she breathed, her voice almost cracking.

The Prince looked surprised. "Why, yes. Terribly fierce animals – many villages and towns around this area have had problems with them in the past. Not many have been seen recently though… we think they might have all died out."

'Not all of them…' Amelia thought sadly, her mind wandering to her good friend Miss Filia, the last of the Golden Dragons in this part of the world, who had led her friends on a wild journey to fulfill a dark prophecy and was now living peacefully in some part of the region. She grimaced to think how her emotional friend, who loved tea and pottery and maces, would react to seeing the head of one of her kinsman mounted as a trophy on the wall of some puffed up Prince.

Amelia's eyes narrowed. She could feel her heart pounding and her face heating up with anger as her sense of Justice started flaring up – it wouldn't be long before she exploded into a speech at this rate.

She turned her glare on the Prince, whose shocked reaction gave her some strange feeling of satisfaction.

"Why?"

If at all possible, the Prince looked even more surprised.

"Wh-what?"

"Why would you do this?" Her eyes were intense as they bored into him, and he seemed to shrink slightly.

"What have they ever done to deserve this? What did they ever do to you?"

The Prince seemed to regain his bearing a bit, though he still looked confused at the supposedly meek princess's outburst.

"Whatever do you mean 'what'? Those creatures are dangerous – they are a menace to peaceful societies such as this." He tilted his head slightly upward, now looking down his nose at her.

She did not like this one bit.

"I know it may be hard for you to understand, a sheltered _Princess _such as yourself," he drawled, talking down to her in a way that made her feel five years old, "but sometimes such measures are needed to protect a kingdom." He stared at her scowling face for a moment before chuckling to himself in a mocking way, saying "The world can't always be sunshine and butterflies."

Something inside Amelia snapped.

She stood up so abruptly that the table shook, knocking over a few wine glasses as it did so. Seeing as how it wasn't her father's, Amelia really didn't care. She stood tall (despite her short stature) and pulled one of her best Justice poses, with one fist planted firmly on her hip and the other hand raised and pointing right between the Prince's eyes.

"How dare you talk to me that way! I have done more for the sake of my kingdom and the _world_ then a self-absorbed Prince like you could ever dream! I have seen horrors and evils the likes of which you will never see and survived near death encounters more times than I care to admit, so HOW DARE YOU degrade me!"

With a flourish she gestured to the wall of heads. "And what gives you the right to pass judgment on these poor creatures? Have you even tried to understand them? I'm sure they'd mind their own business if you murderers would just leave them alone! I cannot ignore such outrageous behavior! In the name of Seyruun, I-"

"Amelia."

She stopped mid pose and looked at her father, whose stern face and crossed arms caused her to deflate slightly. With a slight shake of his head she sighed and sat down once more, head still held high to try and stave off the embarrassment brought on by her outburst.

Phil turned to the King, and his face was set into a firm frown.

"While I am prone to agree with my beloved daughter on this issue,"- Amelia's stiff posture eased a bit at this –"I believe there may be more to this than meets the eye. I'm sure this is not all of the creatures you've captured. What is your process of judging and charging these creatures for these supposed crimes? Justice demands you must have some process of law you refer to before death. Don't you at least have prisons?"

The King considered Phil for a moment, then said "We really have no need to Justify our kingdoms defenses to an outsider, but in the interest of peace, I will acquiesce. Come, I will show you how we do things here."


	3. Chapter 3

Monster to Some Ch. 3

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><p>The King and his son led Phil and Amelia down a maze of hallways, eventually ending at a heavy metal door guarded by two soldiers. With a wave of his hand they lowered their spears and opened the door, where a strong, musty smell assaulted their noses as it poured out of the blackness beyond. Retrieving a torch from the wall, one of the guards began to descend a flight of stone stairs, and the King motioned once again for the group to follow.<p>

It was hard to see details in the passage, even with the torchlight, but Amelia could tell that they were descending into a dungeon.

Her righteous indignation flared up again. How could they keep anyone, even prisoners, in such horrible conditions? She felt a certain amount of pride in that Seyruun's dungeon, built into the castle long ago, had not been used much in centuries and was _still_ well maintained.

Finally they reached the bottom of the staircase, and as the guard moved to light other torches lining the wall, Amelia's eyes widened.

The walls were lined with cells, some large and some small, which seemed to be built right into the walls; each separated by sturdy stone barriers complete with either a thick iron door or solid iron bars. Even in the semi-darkness, she could make out the forms of creatures – most of them sleeping, others staring through the bars with shining eyes.

Amelia had never felt so uncomfortable.

She was sure they were mostly beastmen and ogres, and maybe a few low level dragons, and she shuddered as they watched her, intelligent and aware even in their impoverished state.

A small and feral looking wolf-beast shrieked and lunged at a guard through the bars, only to yelp and fall back as a jolt of what seemed to be lightning coursed through its body as it came into contact with the metal.

Amelia gasped and fell back slightly.

"You see?" The King's deep voice echoed in the dungeon. "They are fierce creatures who want nothing more than to see us dead."

Phil's expression hardened, but he remained silent.

Amelia continued to stare at the bars. 'That looked like a Digger Volt', she thought in confusion – she knew the spell well, 'but the people in the Outerworld can't use magic that powerful….'

She turned to face the King, her confusion showing.

"What happened to it?"

The King smiled, obviously pleased she had noticed the cages effect.

"That", he said proudly, "was electricity."

Amelia's confusion deepened. "But… how did you manage to create something like that without magic?"

Now it was the Princes turn to look pleased.

"Not everyone needs to rely on magic, Princess. We have managed quite fine without it for centuries. In fact, our… innovations have allowed us to surpass magic, to a certain point. We use inventions we create ourselves to help us do anything we wish!"

At this he puffed up even more.

"In fact, just a few weeks ago I was able to capture quite a powerful sorcerer, with nothing but my own wit and skill!"

Amelia paused.

"Sorcerer? Why in the world would you want to do that?"

Jurdiere seemed to reconsider.

"Well, not exactly a sorcerer… a powerful magic user to be sure, but it wasn't human… I'm not quite sure what it was actually." He brought a hand up to his chin and closed his eyes in thought.

"I believe it was created by some more powerful sorcerer, since it wasn't like any magic beast I had seen before… and it was oddly human. The creature seemed to exhibit a sort of personality, albeit a hostile one. I believe it was some sort of familiar… or maybe a… what do you call them? Chimera?"

Amelia's chest tightened. Chimeras were always a touchy subject with her, but she tried to keep herself calm in any case.

It seemed however that her father was getting interested as well.

"And you found this creature out in the desert?"

"Well yes," Judiere continued, still pondering, "and that's part of why I captured it – you see, it had been attacking temples and pillaging libraries. We think it may have been sent to search for something."

Phil's eyes narrowed again.

"Part of why you captured it."

The Prince smiled, somewhat deviously, and answered "It wasn't actually harming anyone, but once I saw it, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add it to my collection! After all, it's not every day you see a creature that blue."

Phil's eyes widened, and Amelia forgot to breathe.

'Blue… Chimera… a sorcerer, pillaging libraries… Oh Cepheid, it sounds as if- it can't possibly be –!' Her heart knew what was happening, but the disconnect of her thoughts was allowing her to voice only one question.

"Please…" The emotion in her voice caused all eyes to turn to her, as she choked out,

"Tell me you didn't kill him."

Prince Judiere looked puzzled, but responded "Well, no… usually I behead them, but that would have been rather difficult considering the creatures skin is as hard as rock."

The strength left her legs and she collapsed to the ground with a sob, only distantly hearing her father's outraged cry and harsh growl as he rounded on the prince. Grabbing the front of his robes and lifting him off the ground, he shouted "WHERE IS HE?"

The Prince just sputtered as he stared into the fierce expression on Phil's face, at a complete loss for words or coherent thought. The King looked indignant and amidst shouting for Phil to unhand the prince, ordered the guards to restrain him.

They were unable to reach him however, as they found their path suddenly intercepted by a flare arrow that went shooting past them to hit the wall farther back and fizzle into sparks, though not before blasting a good chunk of rock from the wall.

All eyes turned to stare at the source of the attack – the Princess, who had gone unnoticed from her spot on the floor. She was holding up a large, glowing fireball and looked ready to blow up the entire room.

Phil dropped the Prince, who began to scurry away but was stopped by a glare from Amelia that froze him in place.

She lifted the fireball higher and said, in a dangerously low voice, though with watery eyes "Take me to him."

Still at a loss for words, Judiere motioned to the guards with a jerk of his head toward the hallway, and he started forward. Amelia quickly moved past them all to follow closely behind him, fireball still held aloft.

As they traveled onward down the hall, Amelia noticed the cells getting fewer and farther between – they were obviously heading toward a 'solitary confinement' area.

Phil moved in closer to the King as they walked, whispering threateningly in his ear "If any harm has befallen this 'prisoner' of yours, you can bet on losing not only him, but also any and all aid from Seyruun or its allies."

The King turned his own fierce glare at Phil.

"As if a kingdom such as ours needed your help in the first place. We have lived for centuries without the aid of you infernal magic users."

Phil scoffed. "Yes, we can see how you've been living – afraid of and hostile to anything different."

"Judge us how you like," the king replied in a low voice, "but our people are safe and happy."

At this Phil sighed heavily, his tone changing from one of anger to pity as he whispered, "Your people are ignorant."

The King continued to follow the blaze of the fire, and if he had heard, he made no comment.

They finally reached the end of the passage, where a single cell sat shrouded in darkness. The air was especially suffocating this far down, and it seemed that nothing was living down here after all.

With a hesitant look back at the Prince, the guard began to pull out a set of keys and started unlocking the heavy device on the door.

Watching him, Amelia couldn't help but start to doubt – she had to be wrong. How could such simple measures contain such a powerful sorcerer (and expert lock-picker) as him?

"Wh-where is he? He's not – "

"nnnh.."

Amelia stood frozen – there _was_ someone in there.

The door to the cell swung open with an ominous clang, and Amelia's fireball fizzled into nothingness as she stood at the threshold. Now that she had come this far, it seemed that she couldn't make herself go any further.

Phil pressed forward, laying a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Amelia?"

His voice was little more than a whisper, but apparently it reached the being in the darkness, as there was a sharp intake of breath, and the clinking of chains as someone moved about, seemingly standing up.

Amelia's breath caught in her throat.

The firelight was still unable to penetrate the darkness within the cell, but she could hear the person within moving towards the door. There was another sound of metal and the person stopped moving.

The group outside the cell waited in silence, suddenly hearing the voice draw in a shaky breath, only to let it out with a whisper of "Amelia…".

Her eyes stung. She knew that voice. She _knew_ that voice.

"LIGHTING!" She screamed, and as the bright ball of light flew towards the ceiling of the cell, it glinted off purplish wire hair and the matted finish of blue stone skin, briefly flashing in turquoise eyes, before Amelia threw herself at the figure with a strangled cry of "ZELGADIS!"

* * *

><p>*Author's Note:<p>

Okay, so at the moment I don't have a upload schedule for this story - I just kinda wanna get what I have onto the site already. There are a couple more chapters after this that I actually have all written out, so hopefully before I upload those I'll have some more chapters done so that I can have a constant upload schedule. This is one story that I *really* wanna have completely finished, since I have the whole story in my head already; it just needs to be put on paper. Or on microsoft word in this case.

So I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but rest assured, I'm not giving up on this!


	4. Chapter 4

He knew it wasn't real. He must have finally snapped.

When the sound of multiple footsteps approached his cage and the sweet, uncertain voice that he had heard every night in his dreams drifted into his cell, he knew he must be dreaming again.

When his cell door swung open, and a bright light flared up from behind his closed eyelids, only to extinguish with a puff, he suspected something was amiss. If this was a dream, shouldn't they be kicking demon butt with a double Ra Tilt, or perhaps eating Hot Pot again in that restaurant in Atlas city?

But when he heard the voice of Prince Phil, who would most definitely NOT be in one of his dreams, whisper the name of the person he wanted to see more than anything in the entire world, he knew that this was too impossible even for a dream.

So he forced himself to stand with what little strength he could muster and attempted to walk towards her. Squinting against the light of the fire, he walked until his shackles reached their limit, and was finally able to see her silhouetted in the dark.

"Amelia…."

And as she shouted her light spell and threw herself into his arms, he thought he must have died and gone to heaven.

Amelia sobbed.

She sobbed and sobbed until her lungs ached and it seemed she had no more tears left to shed. And all the while she clung to Zelgadis, her hands fisting in his dingy and tattered cloak, while his stone arms wrapped around her as well as they could and held her with all the strength he had left.

"Amelia…" he croaked – his throat was sore as he had not talked in weeks, "What on earth are you doing here?"

Though his voice was rough, his tone was just as she remembered: austere and somewhat demanding, but layered with concern.

Concern for her.

She looked up at him in the dim light created by her spell, and the dirt and grime covering his face and clothes only made her cry harder.

Zelgadis held her tighter, at a loss for what to do, and Amelia finally managed to calm down enough to wipe the tears from her eyes – a rather futile effort, as her face was already sopping wet.

"D-Daddy and I were here f-for… a diplomatic mission with th-this kingdom, and…" she trailed off, still hiccupping, and suddenly was smiling almost hysterically as she said, with false amusement lacing her voice "and here I was about to marry a villain while _you're_ here, rotting away in a dungeon while they find a place to mount your head!"

She barely managed to finish her sentence before breaking into loud crying again, and it was all Zelgadis could do to stay standing as he processed what she had said.

Phil watched silently as his daughter cried, her death-grip on the chimera going unnoticed as he continued to stare shocked into space.

Phil then turned with a glare to the guards, standing straight and letting his troll-like stature do all the intimidating he needed, saying in a commanding voice "Release him."

The Prince watched aghast, rushing forward with an indignant cry of "But you can't just –"

"NOW!"

It was clear to the guards who they needed to obey at the moment. Their King had all power, but their survival instincts were in full-force, and Phil did not look like he planned on holding back.

They rushed forward to unlock the chains connecting Zelgadis to the wall, but before they could reach him, a light sparked from where the chains connected to the wall, and the chimera all but threw Amelia away from him as an electric charge lit up his chains and he collapsed to the ground, a harsh cry tearing itself from his already raw throat.

Amelia stumbled back slightly in shock, but was quick to hurry back to his side.

Before she was able to reach him however, his hand shot up to block her as he barked "DON'T!"

Once again she stumbled away from him.

Her tear-soaked face stared in confusion at him, a hint of fear making its way into her eyes. Prince Phil managed to squeeze his way into the small cell, placing his large hands on his daughter's shoulders to stabilize her.

"Zelgadis, what's –"

"I'm sorry" he rasped, still trying to gain control of his breathing, "but I still have that charge in me." He raised a hand and pointed at his wire hair, a sardonic grimace on his face. "If you were to touch me now, you could be electrocuted."

Amelia cringed, and held on tight to her father, wanting to help her dear friend but not knowing how.

"But where did that shock come from…?" she asked softly, staring around the cell for answers.

Zelgadis laughed mirthlessly and lifted his head to stare darkly at the cell door. "Why don't you ask His Royal Highness?"

All eyes turned to the King who stood by the door, his hand still raised to a device on the wall with protruding wires. As the attention turned to him he raised his chin and folded his arms, a challenge in his eyes.

"I am the King," he began in a strong voice, implying these statements were final, "and _that_ is my prisoner. _This_ is how we deal with unruly prisoners, and I alone will decide what fate shall befall this creature."

Amelia fumed at the King of Parfan, who had yet to move from his resolute stance next to the wall. How could such a man rule a kingdom?

"How could you? First of all, his name is Zelgadis Graywords, and he is NOT just some _creature_! What right do you have to-"

"Don't bother Amelia."

She turned a surprised face to Zelgadis, who was standing now and seemed to have recovered from his 'punishment'.

"I've tried it all before. They won't listen- none of them will. I've already told them who I was, and even tried to show them a little example of my powers… They didn't like that much."

He smirked evilly at the guards in the doorway, who shrank back into the shadows.

Prince Judiere let out a loud 'humph' and crossed his arms.

"No matter what this thing says, he obviously wasn't able to defeat us."

Zelgadis glowered.

"No, I wasn't… though only because they found out about my… susceptibility to electricity and proceeded to make good use of it."

Amelia gasped, horrified, and shouted "You mean you abused his weaknesses? That's unfair!"

"Not at all, Princess," Judiere responded haughtily, "it was our powers against his. We couldn't use magic, and so to even out the playing field, we implemented our own weapons. Is that really 'unfair'?"

Amelia said nothing more, but continued glaring at the Prince.

Noticing her silence, Zelgadis stepped closer and said "Don't let him sweet talk his way out of this just yet. He isn't a complete 'hero'."

The princess looked back at him hopefully. Anything she could use to charge him with a crime was welcome.

Zelgadis continued, "You see, after being down here for a few days with very little food or water, the guards began to notice I wasn't as… powerful as I had been when I was captured. It didn't take them long to realize that without nourishment, I was unable to use magic. So, as long as they starved me, I was no longer a threat! Of course that didn't stop them from giving me a daily shock session anyways, and let's not mention the fact that they haven't fed me since I got here."

"But Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia began hesitantly, "that was…"

"Three weeks ago, yes. If it hadn't been for this accursed body, I would be dead. Although…," he turned to Judiere, his eyes darkening, "I believe that was the idea."

Amelia turned to glare at the Prince, who remained defiant, despite a faint twitch at his temple.

Phil stepped forward fuming, his moustache bristling as he fought to control his temper.

"I have seen enough!" he boomed.

"Guards! Release this man immediately! And you!" he turned sharply to the King, who was poised to switch the electricity back on, and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"Don't you dare try anymore of your villainous tricks, unless you want a taste of my infamous 'Pacifist Crush'?"

The King looked outraged, but stayed his hand.

"You can't do this Prince Phillionel," he said commandingly, "he is still in our jurisdiction."

"You have nothing to convict him of!" Amelia shouted, still standing near to Zelgadis as the guards approached and unchained the Chimera.

Zelgadis had to fight the urge to punch them once his wrists were free, but still managed to 'accidentally' knock one of them over as he stumbled.

Amelia gave him a withering look, but he merely shrugged in response as there was really no serious harm done. Being hit by a man-sized rock was not a very pleasant experience however, and the guard did not come any nearer.

The Chimera rubbed his sore neck and wrists, relief washing over his features.

Phil nodded in satisfaction and again walked up to his daughter and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"Amelia, I want you to go get your uncle. Tell him what's happened, and have him assemble the guards and supplies. We will be leaving sooner than planned."

Judiere was livid.

"Now look here! You can't just waltz in here, collect one of our prisoners and leave with no explanation! What about your precious 'Justice' you keep going on about?"

The bulky Prince Phil loomed over the smaller form of the Prince of Parfan.

"We have every right to do this! Zelgadis Graywords is under the protection of the kingdom of Seyruun, for services performed for Seyruun in the past. It is 'just' that we take care of our own."

With that, he turned back to Amelia.

"Daughter, go. Go and tell your uncle. I can handle the rest of this."

Amelia stood rooted, confusion flitting through her eyes.

"But… daddy, Mr. Zelgadis needs my-,"

"Mr. Zelgadis will be quite taken care of, Amelia."

He softly ushered the rigid girl out of the cell, her eyes constantly flitting back to the tired eyes of her friend. She caught the sadness in them, directed at her, and fought against her father's hold.

"Daddy, I-,"

"Amelia! I insist!"

She stopped struggling and looked into her father's stern face, her resolve breaking as she huffed and bolted back down the passageway.

Zelgadis watched her forlornly as she ran, though he couldn't help but admire the strength and speed she had even while wearing a poufy dress and high heels.

He glanced back at Phil, who was ordering the guards to fetch Zelgadis' belongings, and was surprised to find they had actually saved them.

He snatched his pack out of the reluctant guards' hands and proceeded to rummage through it. Books, maps, quills were all there. Compass? Check. And there was his canteen… but where was the object that was supposed to be hooked around it?

Zelgadis' searching became more frantic. Where was it? It had been with him when he'd been brought here… but it was gone.

He slowly lifted his head and turned a poisonous look to the guardsmen, who were sweating profusely.

"Where is it?" He shouted, his stone hands clenching his pack as he fought to keep from strangling the men.

They merely whimpered and turned baleful looks at the Prince, who gave them a rather obvious pointed look.

Zelgadis growled and stalked forward.

"You lousy thieves! Give it back!"

Phil put out a hand to stop the stone man and prevent him from reaching the cowering guards.

"Hold it Zelgadis, just what is going on?"

Zelgadis continued to glower at the other men, but had stopped advancing on them.

"Those thieves stole something of mine."

"What?"

"That's a lie!" Judiere shouted, standing authoritatively in front of the guards, "the guards are fully allowed to confiscate stolen items from prisoners. No doubt this was something this cretin had lifted from one of those temples he destroyed."

"STOLEN? It was a GIFT you LOUSY-"

"Zelgadis, calm down!"

Phil was losing his grip on the chimera, who despite his weakened state was putting up a rather tough fight.

"Now, what exactly did they take?"

Zelgadis sobered considerably, and surprisingly turned a bit purple from a sudden rush of blood to his cheeks.

"It- it was an amulet."

"An amulet?"

Zelgadis turned to hide his face suddenly, but couldn't hide the blush that was seeping into the tips of his ears as well. In a rough, low mumble he said "It was an enchanted bracelet. From Amelia."

Phil's eyes widened in surprise, and then lit up in a fatherly smile. So, his little daughter had given this gruff stone man a token? And he had accepted it? His baby girl really was growing up.

"Well men!" Phil started in a booming voice, "there seems to have been a misunderstanding here. That treasure you have confiscated is the property of Princess Amelia, and I'm sure she would like it back."

His pointed stare was all it took for the guards to turn heel and rush off to retrieve the bracelet. Zelgadis looked from the fleeing guards to Phil, a look of disbelief on his face.

"But… that was mine!" he pouted.

"Don't worry young man", Phil said amiably, his voice dropping to a whisper as he placed a hand on the Chimera's shoulder.

"I only said that to make sure they took it seriously. I'll give it back to you once we're out of this place. Although… I admit I would like to hear just how you came to have it in the first place!" he said with a wink.

Zelgadis' own look was a mixture of appreciation and utter embarrassment.

"If that's taken care of- ," Prince Phil and Zelgadis snapped their heads back towards the King, who continued in a commanding voice, "we'll return to the throne room for a bit of … negotiating."

Prince Judiere stood next to his father, holding aloft one of the guard's torches with his lips pursed tight as though he had swallowed a lemon.

"Well, come along then." He said harshly.

The King looked equally eager to leave the dungeon and solve the matter, but Phil stayed where he was.

"You two go on ahead – I want to have a talk with your 'prisoner'."

The King looked incredulous but turned to leave, saying simply "No tricks Prince Philionel."

"No, no tricks." Phil responded, as he and Zelgadis watched the two men depart down the passageway.

The Chimera narrowed his eyes and started resolutely after them; he had barely taken two steps however, when his legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor, all the adrenaline he'd had from seeing friends leaving him just as quickly as it had arrived. He groaned in pain from his spot on the floor, willing his limbs to move while they refused to acquiesce.

The Chimera cringed in embarrassment at his predicament, but was suddenly caught off guard as the burly arms of Prince Phil picked him up off the floor and proceeded to carry him down the hall.

"Wha- Hey!" He struggled as much as his weakened body would allow, but Phil only chuckled in response.

"I apologize for having to do this to a great warrior such as yourself Zelgadis, but I knew you wouldn't have the strength to make it out of here on your own. Especially not up all those stairs!"

The stone man simply frowned from his place in Phil's arms, thoroughly displeased by the situation.

He was wroth to admit it, but his legs really had no more strength, and the more he thought about the situation, the more he softened.

"You had this all planned out. That's why you made sure we left last."

Phil grinned.

"Well of course! I know you well enough to guess that you like to avoid looking undignified in front of others." His grin softened as he added "especially in front of Amelia."

Zelgadis reddened again and turned his head sharply away, but after a moment he let out a sigh and said "after traveling with Lina Inverse, I wonder if I have any dignity left at all."

As he heard Phil's booming laugh reverberate through the dungeon and die away into the stuffy darkness, Zelgadis closed his eyes and felt he had never been happier to leave a place in his life.

* * *

><p>*Author's Note:<p>

Okay, I know this is *highly* overdue, but here's chapter four of "Monster to Some". Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed so far! I know it might seem kind of predictable, but surprise wasn't really my goal - I like to focus on how characters react to certain situations, rather than the situations themselves. But anyways, you all have been lovely! :D

And don't worry Amelia fans, she'll have more to do later in the story! She can only sit on the sidelines for so long afterall. ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Amelia paced frantically outside the Parfan throne room.

Her dear Uncle Christopher had been completely understanding of the situation when she explained it, and he was eager to help out Zelgadis, who had once aided in uncovering a plot to kill his brother and himself.

Despite _his_ willingness however, there was a lot that had to be done to regroup their men, and they first had to have a talk with the Seyruun royal counselors.

_They_ had been much less sympathetic.

After a lot of tricky diplomacy and a bit of rank-pulling, Amelia and Christopher had finally convinced them to hold a trial to determine the fate of the former prisoner.

Despite this allowance, the council was in no mood to dismiss Amelia's engagement.

_That_ wasn't up to _her_.

So she paced from one edge of the carpet to the next, torn between her fury over the council's stubbornness, and her worry over how Zelgadis was doing.

She had heard nothing about his current situation, and only knew that he and her father had left the dungeon.

Now she and her Uncle stood outside the massive doors to the throne room, waiting for her father (and hopefully her friend as well) so they could get on with the trial and discuss what was to be done.

"Amelia, for Heaven's sake, you're wearing me out just by looking at you!"

The Princess stopped in her pacing and turned towards her uncle.

"Sorry Uncle Christopher, I'm just so nervous! Where are they? What's taking so long? What if something –,"

"Niece, relax!" Christopher said imploringly, his hands raised toward her. "I'm sure there's no problem. Your father is more than capable of handling the situation."

Amelia stopped fidgeting, but her face remained scrunched in worry. "But… I just… hate being so useless." Her shoulders slumped and she turned away, trying not to fidget with her uncertainty.

Christopher smiled understandingly and walked over to place his hands reassuringly on her shoulders.

"Amelia, you're not useless – not at all!"

She looked up at him dubiously.

"But there is a time and place for everything, and right now it's your father's responsibility to handle things."

At that Amelia frowned, staring at the carpet in frustration.

Christopher frowned back with worry.

"I know you don't like this waiting, and I'm proud of your desire to help, but for now you must let things play out until that time when you can step in and lend a hand."

His face softened, and he lifted a hand to pat her lovingly on the head.

"And besides, Justice is with us, and your friend Master Zelgadis! Everything will work out, you'll see!"

As she listened to the optimism in her uncle's soft-spoken voice, Amelia couldn't help but brighten somewhat. Perhaps Justice had been hiding her face for a while, but she would come through in the end!

Amelia had always believed in Justice, and now in her current state of doubt she found it a comforting friend to cling to.

Giving her uncle a Seyruun bear hug and a muttered 'thank you', Amelia turned and headed toward the wall next to the doors of the throne room, settling down into a lavish, cushioned armchair.

Yawning wide, she all but fell onto the arm rest, her eyes shutting instantly and mind drifting off as sleep overtook her.

* * *

><p>*Author's Note:<p>

SORRY! I know this next chapter is *looooooong* overdue, and it's short, but… I hit a wall, and I've been too distracted by other things to work on this.

However I'm back on it now, and I've figured out where I'm going with this (I've had the end in mind for ages, but the middle got kinda… meh) so expect this to be updated again soon! And hopefully the updates will be pretty regular (or at least more often), so don't worry! You're adding an alert to this won't be completely wasted! ;)

So thanks everyone for the reviews, faves, and story alerts! This has gotten a much bigger response than I ever really thought it would! :D


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